Brown paper packages tied up with strings....

...these are a few of my favorite things

Below are a few of our favorite quick and easy chicken recipes:

Jane Collins Chicken

This was a dish Jane made in college (that's why I had it in my recipe book as Collins & not Boutwell). She always accompanied it with wild rice, broccoli casserole, and sister shubert yeast rolls. Its yummy and super easy!!

(1) Chicken (you can use whatever cuts you'd like as long as it has skin and bones- I tried it with boneless skinless once and it absorbs way too much salt. I usually use a mix of thighs and legs because they are Zack's favorite and they are super cheap!!)
(2) Garlic Seasoning
(3) Soy Sauce
(4) Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place chicken, skin side up, in a casserole dish
Sprinkle chicken liberally with garlic seasoning
Cover with soy sauce ( I put a lot- don't just sprinkle)
Squeeze lemon juice over chicken

Cook in oven for 1 hour or until chicken is done.

Note: I think the original recipe calls to cover with kosher salt and place in the fridge then rinse and prepare- I find that this chicken is super tender even if you skip this step so I always do

Papa's Chicken

My sweet Papa is the best cook I know. He calls his kitchen his la-bor-a-tory- and he is always sending the most delicious meals our way!! After James was born the one thing I requested was my Papa's Chicken and Dumplings- by far the most wonderful meal ever. Well my sweet Papa kept the meals coming and sent us this delicious chicken a few nights later. The meat was so tender it just falls off the bone. Here is the recipe. I like to serve it with steamed green beans, a roll, and white rice (the gravy made from the dish is oh so good over the rice).

One cut up chicken (or pieces if you prefer)
1 8oz. jar apricot preserves
1 bottle Russian Dressing (I usually use 1/2 bottle)
1 envelope onion soup

Place chicken in casserole dish or pan. Mix all other ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 300 degrees for two hours OR 350 degrees for one hour. (I like to remove the foil the last few minutes to brown the chicken a little especially if cooking just one hour)

Check for doneness and enjoy over rice!

Carraway Chicken

This is a dish my preceptor at Carraway hospital told me about. It is oh so good, and Zack always thinks I have slaved in the kitchen when I make it (I only sometimes correct him). It is great served with rice or noodles. My preceptor always bought sundried tomato bread from walmart to as she said "sop up all that goodness".

Chicken ( You can use boneless, skinless or regular)
1 bag of baby spinach
1 can of diced tomatoes or sliced fresh tomatoes
1 box of baby bella or while mushrooms sliced ( you can also use a jar of mushrooms) *
Balsamic Vinagrette
Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350

Wash spinach and place in bottom of casserole dish. Cover spinach with chicken. Season with salt and pepper ( I like to add a little garlic seasoning). Cover with tomatoes and mushrooms. Pour Balsamic Vinagrette (it's really good if you make the Italian seasonings dressing yourself but just a jar of kraft dressing is fine) over to taste. Cover with foil and cook at 350 until done. Sprinkle with cheese and cook 5 more minutes or until melted.

*I added the mushrooms to this dish because Zack loves mushrooms. You could just as easily leave them out.

Mama's Soup Chicken

Mama always made this chicken growing up. It's simple to make and comforting on a cold night. We always had it with green beans and white rice (once again the gravy made by the dish is yummy over rice)

One cut up chicken (or pieces if you prefer)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 can of cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup

Place chicken in casserole dish. Cover with sliced onions. Pour soup over both. Cook at 350 for about an hour.

Zack, Zantac, and more...

Since it is the last day of the month ( & the little guy is taking a nap and the big guy is building cabinets for some friends) I thought I'd post a little update about what has been going on in our lives:

January 22,2008- Happy Birthday Zack!! Zack turned 30 on Thursday. Happy Birthday Rachel! Rachel turned 27 on Thursday as well.

We had so much fun celebrating that night. We turned off the TV, turned on Courtney & Scott's wedding CD (our favorite to cook/dance in the kitchen to), pulled out my Barefoot Contessa cookbook (also my FAVORITE!!!), opened a bottle of wine ( a nice bottle my Dad gave us while I was preggo that we had been waiting to drink), and cooked a delicious meal (Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic ( sounds overpowering, but when you cook the garlic for a long time it becomes sweet & delicious- who knew?!?), sauteed wild mushrooms, and sauteed baby spinach). We had so much fun we decided to make it a weekly thing to pick a delicious/complex meal to cook together each week.- we did it again this week and had so much fun. I love cooking with my husband. Well, I love doing anything with my husband...I am so blessed.

Saturday- Joe and Carl had some people over to celebrate Rachel & Lisa's birthday. When I walked in Rachel had all the girls in the den with ballots watching and judging the Miss America contest- classic!!( I love that girl). Also, I was so excited that Darcy & Taylor came down from Birmingham. I can't believe I didn't get a picture- but it was SO WONDERFUL to see them.

Sunday- I had 20+ people (our families) over for a 30th Birthday lunch for Zack. I cooked Shrimp and Feta casserole ( Jane, I found the recipe and will post it for you. I remembered you had asked for it when I went searching for it), Parmesan tomatoes, Kim's salad, and beef tenderloin (actually my sweet Mom made the beef tenderloin for me). We also had a massive dessert spread: banana pudding (Zack's mom made it- delicious), cherry dump cake (Mom made- also delicious), Chocolate ice cream dessert, and Better than sex cake (Uncle Brother ( Mom's brother) made- also delicious). We had so much fun- and were so glad to celebrate with Zack!!

James facts:

(1) James took his first bottle.

First things first...I started pumping- which is weird, but easy. Zack hooked up my breast pump (which is a double pump) and tried it out to make sure he had hooked all the tubes and suctions correctly- it was too funny- I cried I laughed so hard. He wouldn't let me take a picture and he also probably wouldn't let me post it on the blog if he was here (but he's not, and I don't think he reads it unless I hand him the computer to proofread ( I can't spell anything- a fact my brother told me is very concerning given that it is probably an important qualification for a pharmacist)...anyway as a result of the above mentioned facts you all get the pleasure of that mental image!!

Since I am starting back to work part-time the end of February, I knew I had to start pumping and making sure James would take a bottle. While I was out shopping for the birthday lunch food, Zack gave James his first bottle- and Zack said James took it like a pro. He has done very well with feeding from day one. After my 19 hours of labor and a C-section they brought James into nurse at midnight (note: I had no idea what to do)- and he took right to it- God was really looking out for me- he knew I couldn't take much more.

(2) James is laughing and smiling more and more

He started smiling very early. He was 3 weeks old in the picture I posted of him smiling a few posts ago. He thinks his Daddy is so funny when he pops the passy out of his mouth (see picture below...he also thinks it's funny if I do it, but Zack created the "game"). He also thinks the star on his Baby Einstein is funny and the mobile on his crib.

(3) James started and stopped taking Zantac

I started James on Zantac a few weeks ago due to his severe reflux. I don't think he was typical reflux- he had all of the symptoms, but sleeps well and he doesn't scream all the time- he usually opens his eyes very wide, turns bright red, squirms all around, and looks very distressed before he spits up. He had a very scary night a few weeks ago where he spit up 2 hours after he ate and started choking on it- (I will spare you all the details, but it scared me to death). Anywho...we started Zantac the next day. He HATES the Zantac- it felt like child abuse to give it to him. Well, he hasn't had any new choking spells, but it hasn't improved any of the other symptoms, so I stopped it 3 days ago. So we will see...

(4) I got his birth announcements in and spent all day Thursday updating my addresses and hope to get them printed on labels and out by Monday!! I got them printed on Shutterfly- my new obsession.

(5) Infant Massage

I rented a netflix video about infant massage...it is supposed to be good bonding, very relaxing to the baby, and can help babies with reflux and colic.T he video was super cheesy, but I decided to try it with James anyway. Well, he loves it. We do it in the morning after I give him a mini-bath. We sing and laugh, and it has become our favorite part of the day. He will also do his tummy time w/out crying for 15-20 minutes afterwards. My friend Karen said her son loved baby Yoga- so that may be next.

Well that's all I can think of for now!!

1 month

Happy Birthday James!!

9 pounds, 9 ounces (50th percentile)
22.5 ounces (75-90th percentile)
Cute as a button!!

singing happy birthday to our little guy

sitting in his rocking chair

snoozing after his big birthday celebration

The Longest Post Ever (AKA The Day James was Born)

This is very long- I actually left a lot out- but it was a LONG day so I guess that explains the length of the post. As I was rereading this after writing it I realized I have also created my own form of punctuation- please forgive me- this post is one run-on sentence with misplaced commas and such- but I do not feel like editing...so read at your own risk.

Ok- so I have really debated whether or not to write this, but I decided to go ahead...mostly because I want to document it for myself so I won't forget, but also, because for some reason, I really enjoyed reading other people's birth stories. So here goes- please feel free to skip if reading about labor is not your cup of tea. I guess I will start at the very beginning...

I had my 40 week doctors appointment on December 3rd (my due date was December 6th). I went to the appointment hoping that I had progressed- but not expecting to since there had been no progress at my previous visits. So Zack and I arrived at our "last visit" and when I asked Dr. Phillips if I was effaced, or dilated, or if the baby had dropped- his reply to all of the above was "do you want me to lie to you?". Needless to say I thought I would be preggo forever!! Before we left he scheduled me for an induction on December 11th and said he would check me on the 10th and we would evaluate from there. I just knew I wouldn't be having a baby for weeks!!

Well, fast forward to the 8th. I felt different on the 8th- my back was hurting- a symptom I had thankfully avoided until that day. I had previously decided for the 8th to be my last day at work- so I waddled around all day with my back killing.me. When I got home I took a bath and powered up the ole heating pad- but no relief. Zack and I went to bed early and at 11:45 I woke up with a pretty painful contraction. At midnight I woke up and went to go to the bathroom and bam- my water broke. I woke Zack up, and he jumped higher that I have ever seen him jump in my life (note: it was hilarious- I wish I had a picture) While he was running around I called the doctor and he told me to head on to the hospital. We called our parents and I decided to take a shower before we left for the hospital (a decision I was thankful for)

We got to the hospital at 1 am( after my parents, because I failed to tell them I was going to take the aforementioned shower) and headed up to the birthing suite. The nurse checked me and I was dilated a whopping 1cm. So they cranked up the pitocin. I was then asked if I wanted an epidural- I said yes- but for some unknown reason I wanted to wait to receive it (a decision I would later deeply regret). Slowly they kept cranking up the pitocin and quickly my contractions got stronger and more frequent. Note: when your water breaks... your contractions are more intense- a fact I was unaware of when I went to the hospital, but one I was becoming very familiar with. Well fast forward again- its 3am- and I can't breath and I am shaking uncontrollably- either from the pitocin or labor itself- who knows. I call the nurse to tell her I would like the epidural- the sweet nurse said she would call anesthesia, but that I would have to wait because girl next door was further along and would need to receive her epidural 1st. Well fast forward again to sometime after 4am- the nurse anesthetist arrived and tears of joy welled up in my eyes. Let me tell you, the epidural was wonderful; however, it is a very disturbing sensation not to be able to move your legs ( a fact that would later become more troublesome as the nurses flipped me from side to side)...but it was oh so much better.

Immediately following my epidural the baby's heart rate dropped (something the nurse said can happen with an epidural). So Zack and the 2 nurses start rolling me from side to side, they gave me a shot of epi , and put me on oxygen and his heart rate went back up. Sweet Dr. Phillips comes by and prays for the baby and the delivery and at this point all things look great. Well, as my contractions continued to get stronger the baby's heart rate would decrease. At one point about 6 nurses ran in the room, put me back on oxygen, rolled me from side to side, and did countless other things. They decided to call the Dr. He came and decided to take me off the pitocin. At this point they also decided to put me on an internal monitor ( a monitor they placed on the babies head to more accurately monitor his heart rate) and to hook me up to another IV to in essence refill my womb. At this point they concluded that the umbilical cord was probably wrapped around the baby's neck and this was most likely causing the baby's heart rate to decrease during my contractions.

Well by 3pm I was dilated 9 cm. The next few hours included the following: getting sick, developing hot spots where my epidural would no longer work, and being examined and flipped by countless nurses, & even some student nurses (note: I truly feel that the 15th hour of labor when your having complications is NOT the time to let your student nurse examine an expectant mother to see what it like to be dilated X cm-anyway, I digress) .

At 7pm I was finally 10cm. Dr. Phillips decided he will let me try to push, but due to the baby's heart rate decreasing and the position of his head if he did not come VERY QUICKLY we would do a C-section . Well after about 10-15 minutes of pushing, no progress, and the baby's heart rate continuing to decrease with every contraction- they put away the glorious stirrups and prepped me for a C-section. I then went in and they preformed their magic (none of which I could see because of the big blue sheet in front of my head). The next thing I know they tell my sweet, precious husband (who I failed to mention was so kind and supportive the entire day- the perfect partner) he can look over the sheet and watch them pull out the baby (James had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and his shoulder). I cannot describe how wonderful it was to hear his beautiful cry. I was so amazed I could finally hear the child I had carried for the past 9 months. Then sweet Zack brought James all swaddled and precious over for me to see.. It was a very surreal moment.

It was a long, but wonderful day. Every second of it was worth hearing James' beautiful cry, seeing his precious face, and enjoying it all with my wonderful husband!! God has blessed us so much. My cup overflows!!

Zachary James Barker Jr

Zachary James Barker Jr

7lb 12 oz

21 in

December 9, 2008

7:51 p.m.

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since James was born. I am so amazed by people who have pictures up of their baby within hours of their birth. Well, obviously not me. James is almost 1 month and still no post....so... Above are a few of my favorite pictures. I have started writing about James' arrival and motherhood, but I haven't finished....so to make myself feel less anxious about it I thought I would post a few pics today and then finish and post the stuff I have been working on next week. So until then....

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. It's been more like Thanksgiving week though!! This was Robb and Kim's year to do Thanksgiving with our family and Uncle Brother was in town from Cabo San Lucas so we had a full house. George, Sybil, and the kids came from Birmingham Wednesday night and Will stayed at Mom and Dad's to play with his cousins from Thursday to Sunday. Zack's side of the family spent the Thanksgiving holiday at Rosemary beach. We missed them a lot, but know they had a great time relaxing in Florida!!

Wednesday night the Birmingham Newton clan came to town with Sybil's mother and we enjoyed a nice dinner of lasagna at Mom and Dad's. Plus Zack and Dad practiced on Zack's new turkey fryer and fried a turkey and a chicken...Lucas loved the chicken.

Thursday was filled with food and fun!! Boy did we have a great spread...I didn't do much to contribute...but I sure did a good job eating it. I made an artichoke dip and brought rolls. Zack fried a delicious turkey. We had dressing, mac and cheese, green beans, spinach and artichoke casserole , wild rice casserole, Asian salad, roasted turkey, fried turkey, ham, turnips, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole. And that's not including dessert- pumpkin roulade, apple and cherry turnovers, key lime pie, sweet potato pie, chocolate covered strawberries, and blueberry pie. Needless to say we were all completely stuffed Thursday night.

The delicious food!!


The fam at the dinner table!!

The preggo recovering after eating way too much!!

Friday started off spectacularly. When I woke up Friday morning Zack had the Christmas tree up with the lights on and all of the Christmas decorations down from the attic. We spent the morning drinking hot chocolate, listening to Christmas music, and decorating the house. Thanks Zack for being the BEST HUSBAND EVER!!! We then watched about 3 hours of our childbirth class DVD and learned all about labor and delivery. Later that afternoon we went to Mom and Dad's where George and Zack made the best hot wings I have ever tasted in my life!! Mom and Sybil made beef short ribs and rice for supper-yummy. That night I started having contractions- some were really painful- so Zack and I hurried home to pack our bag for the hospital. The contractions continued throughout the night, but were never regular. The doctor told us at our last visit to call when they were 5 minutes apart for over an hour- and they never were- so no false trips to the hospital this time.

Saturday Zack decided not to go with the rest of the guys to the AU-AL game for fear that I might go into labor. I spent the day cleaning around the house, washing clothes, and getting Baby Barker's things in order. I guess now its just a waiting game. My due date is December 6th- so one week to go...we will see!! We can't wait for him to get here. And I can't wait for his Daddy to decide on his name!!

Well, after boring everyone with the minute details of our week, here are some more of Zack's great pictures:

Our Beautiful Baby Shower

WOW!!! Our sweet friends and family were so generous to shower BB, Me, and Zack with so many beautiful and useful items. From our stroller and swing to burp cloths and "hooter hiders" BB and I are set!! Thanks to everyone for their generosity and thoughtfulness.

The hostesses minus Sybil, Kim, Amanda and Catie.

The hostesses did a beautiful job. The flowers were beautiful, Rachel's house looked breathtaking, and the food and decorations were divine. It was so much fun to have friends and family together...I think it was 2 years ago at our wedding that I was blessed to have so many of our best friends & family together in one place. Here are some more pictures of the beautiful occasion:

Zack trying on the sling Jane made for us!

Other things going on:

(1) Zack is fully recovered from his surgery. He got his staples out last week, and is now counting down the days until he can get back in the gym (the Dr said he had to wait 6 weeks which is an eternity to Zack).

(2) Zack was so sweet to put together all of BB's things...I will have to take pictures of the nursery soon to post. We are still waiting on the rocker which should be shipped Nov 2nd!!

(3) I went to the cardiologist and they did an EKG which showed sinus tachycardia (i.e. my heart was in rhythm but just really fast) which was good news. I had to wear a heart monitor for 24 hours- but we have yet to hear the results of that yet!!

Well that's all I can think of for now....